40% of Iran's petrochemical industry to be privatized as "justice shares"

TEHRAN, June 15 (Mehr News Agency) -- In line with the implementation of the policies outlined in Article 44 of the Constitution, Iran plans to sell 40 percent of the shares of the petrochemical industry as "justice shares", which are only made available to the underprivileged strata of Iran.

Mehdi Aghajani, an official of the Central Headquarters for Implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution, explained that 20 percent of the shares are being allocated to Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC), 35 percent will be put on sale at the Tehran Stock Exchange, and the remaining 5 percent would go to petrochemical industry personnel.

The 20 percent allocated to the NPC is meant to support petrochemical industry projects but may be offered to the private sector in the future, he explained.

Seven development plans have been devised to boost the output of the petrochemical industry, and in all these plans there is room for private sector investment, Aghajani said.

If any private sector company seeks to set up a petrochemical plant, the government will not oppose the plan, he added.